In preparation for the season of Godard films as part of The NZ International Film Festival Autumn Events this weekend, Alex and I thought we’d get drunk and watch some movies again. Armed with a two bottles of white wine, a 6 pack of Hite and a 1.5 litre bottle of Sprite (we combined the Sprite and the Hite to create our new favourite drink, ‘Shite’), we tackled Jean-Luc Godard’s 1965 film ‘Pierrot le fou‘. None of the following conversation really makes sense, but then neither did the movie really so #YOLO.
R: Okay, so…we gotta make this quick. We’re still watching Pierrot le Fou. So this is the longest one and we decided to start with it. I don’t know why.
A: It’s also the last in the programme and the latest one that he made.
R: And the weirdest!
A: No, we don’t even know that.
R: We don’t know that. So. A guy…
A: It starts…
R:…Are we both going to recap this?
A: You go.
R: There’s a guy, in a bath and he’s reading some stupid ass book.
A: The first of many readings.
R: Well, not too many readings…
A: There have been so many readings.
R: And then his wife is like “the oil man is coming, to this party, get a job” and he’s like “I can’t go”. But he goes to the party. And then there’s a topless lady.
A: It was bourgeoisie.
R: Then it cuts straight to her and him, and then she sings a weird song – they’re in an apartment, they’ve run away together or whatever.
A: Oh, there’s a car though. They’re in a car.
R: Oh yeah. With more coloured lights.
A: It was the 60s. There were a lot of coloured lightbulbs.
R: She keeps calling him Pierrot.
A: And he’s like “my name’s Fernando. Biatch.”
R: And then…they run away together and the thing and there’s the man and he’s bleeding and stuff.
A: Oh yeah, in the apartment.
R: She gets a gun and they run away. You can explain the petrol scene.
A: Okay. We arrive at a gas station. He goes, “Fill the tank up with Tiger” or something. And then she goes, “JUDO CHOP!” First of all, she judo chops the first guy in the bonnet, and he’s dead straight away from a very light bonnet wound.
And then she’s like “oh, there’s one more” and so she’s like to him “look up” and the henchman looks up and then she’s like “JUDO CHOP” and he falls flat over. And he’s dead. Instantly.
R: You made a good observation that this whole film is very similar to ‘Austin Powers’.
A: So many parallels. So not only was there the judo chopping, that was a lot like Austin Powers. As well as the anonymous henchmen in terms of character and costume – very similar. Next part is that they drive their car directly into the ocean, akin to Austin Powers’ father in his little spymobile. And also there’s a midget.
R: Spoiler alert. There’s a midget later on with a huge phone. When Alex saw him, she was like “is it a midget or is it a huge phone?”
A: It was a valid point, because then in the next scene we see a normal size person with the fucking largest phone of all time.
A: But this is the thing – they weren’t normal phones. It’s only 1965, so they aren’t phones, they’re just antennae mobiles.
R: They’re HAM radios.
A: Shortband radios.
R: So then they go off in the car, and then… f*ck, what happens then? They just keep on busking everywhere.
A: Oh yeah, and then they’re like “should we put on a play for the Americans?” And that’s when the yellow face comes out.
R: I know. It’s very racially insensitive. So weird. And then they kill more people.
A: Wait, hold on. We’ve missed so much.
R: Well hurry up, because I’m not typing out more than five minutes of this.
A: We haven’t talked about the parrot. There’s a parrot.
R: Alex is convinced that she met that parrot.
A: I think I met that parrot. Earlier this year in Thailand. We googled parrot life span, and parrots live min. 50 years, so, like, I could’ve easily met it. They live 50 to 100 years. So we need a minimum 47 year old parrot.
R: Alex, there are a lot of Macau parrots in the world, you definitely didn’t meet him.
A: I don’t reckon. I’ll show you a photo. It’s on Facebook.
(NOTE: There is no photo on Facebook with Alex and a parrot, Rose looked for 15 minutes)
R: Basically this movie is just apeshit and I don’t know what’s going on. I mean, it’s an experience.
A: I’m enjoying it.
R: So basically what we’ve learned from this film is that,
1. Alex met that parrot.
2. Parrots live up to 100 years.
A: And,
3. Alexa Chung – we know where you got your hair from.
You should put a photo of Alexa Chung and Anna Karina side by side in the blog right here:
R: Don’t tell me how to edit this.
Don’t forget to check out the ‘What Is So Great About Godard?‘ screenings happening this weekend in Auckland! And let us know what movie or Korean beer you think me and Alex should consume next!
